Tag: Afghanistan

  • ‘Anushka Sharma is Afghan cricketer Rashid Khan’s wife,’ Google says

    Afghan cricketer Rashid Khan was mistakenly referred to as Bollywood star Anushka Sharma’s husband on a Google search that has left fans in fits.

    Social media surely had a field day after the little gaffe on the search engine that seemingly stems from the cricket champ’s crush on her and Preity Zinta.

    As per a few media reports, Rashid was recently asked in an interview to name his favourite woman actors. Rashid said he loved to watch Anushka and Preity. That is all his fans needed to ship Rashid and Anushka.

    The many mentions all over the internet might have caused the Google search engine to goof up the same way United States (US) President Donald Trump’s pictures show up if one searches for “idiot”.

    The B-Town diva is actually married to Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli, and the two are also expecting their first child together.

    Anushka also attended Saturday’s Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Chennai Super Kings match of the ongoing season of Indian Premier League (IPL). She even blew Virat a kiss from the visitors’ area, which caught everyone’s attention. Virat, who scored an unbeaten 90 in the match, even gestured towards his wife after his half-century.

    Rashid, on the other hand, says he will “get engaged and married once Afghanistan wins the cricket World Cup”.

  • Ex-foreign minister Khawaja Asif under fire for glorifying Taliban

    Ex-foreign minister Khawaja Asif under fire for glorifying Taliban

    As United States (US)-Taliban talks continue with the aim of achieving peace in Afghanistan, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) lawmaker and former foreign minister Khawaja Asif has glorified the fundamentalist political movement and military organisation in a statement that drew strong criticism.

    “You may have the power, but God is with us… Allah is great,” he wrote while tweeting a picture of Taliban leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

    His statement wasn’t very well received by netizens who trained guns at the ex-foreign minister for having forgotten how the Taliban not only brutalised the people of Afghanistan but also harboured militants who targeted many, including Asif’s boss and former prime minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif.

    https://twitter.com/ZahirMoein/status/1305395808439799808

    Meanwhile, after nearly two decades of war that has killed tens of thousands, peace talks between the Afghan government and Taliban have opened in Doha.

    Key speakers at the opening ceremony at a hotel included Afghanistan’s High Council for National Reconciliation Chairperson Abdullah Abdullah, Mullah Baradar and Pompeo.

    The negotiations, where the two warring sides will sit face-to-face for the first time, will start today (Monday).

    For his part, Abdullah on Saturday spoke about seeking a dignified and lasting peace.

    “I believe that if we give hands to each other and honestly work for peace, the current ongoing misery in the country will end,” Abdullah said, calling for a “humanitarian ceasefire”.

  • Ex-ISI DG sees no Saudi role in Pakistan-Afghan end-game

    Ex-ISI DG sees no Saudi role in Pakistan-Afghan end-game

    Former Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) director-general (DG) Lt General (r) Asad Durrani has said that Pakistan had planned ten years back to oust the United States forces from Afghanistan but it does not have a major role to play in Afghan end-game and the Afghans have to decide their rulers in future.

    In an interview with a web-television, Lt Gen (r) Durrani said that Pakistan had understood 10 years ago that the US troops would have to be ousted from Afghanistan in Afghan end-game.

    “Now they [US troops] are going out, Pakistan as a country has little role and Taliban, already have a dominant role in war-ravaged Afghanistan, have a major role to play. Besides Afghan Taliban, other players like Dr Abdullah Abdullah, Dr Mohaqiq and other local [ethnic] leaders have a future role too. But Dr Ashraf Ghani has no role in Afghanistan in the future as he has been imposed [as a foreign puppet]. There would be tough negotiations between local players and then future dispensation would be decided,” he said.

    He also said that Pakistan had formed a regional cooperation bloc which would play a key role in the Afghan end-game; and along with Pakistan, China, Russia, Iran and Turkey would have a role to play as well.

    “This bloc will also help resolve issues in the Middle East and India too. In Afghanistan, our main objective has already been met and we have facilitated peace process in Afghanistan between the US and Afghan Taliban. We have to ensure that intra-Afghan talks also succeed and future dispensation is decided by Afghans themselves,” he added.

    “We are not worried for Afghanistan future. Taliban have a dominant position and they have won a war against the US forces. Pakistan does not have a major role to play and this is in our interest not to get involved in Afghanistan future role,” he further said.

    Lt Gen (r) Durrani said that the US had wasted billions of dollars each year on “useless” Afghan Army. He accused the US of bribing Taliban by secretly paying them $500 million annually. He said that after defeating the world (NATO), Taliban are now unstoppable.

    He also said that Afghan tribes had defeated the Russians and other invaders. Taliban have a role to play in Afghanistan. “President Obama wanted to pull out US troops ten years back but could not do as US military industrial complex who wanted to sell their weapons to Afghans,” he added.

    The former ISI DG said that the role of Saudi Arabia in Afghanistan has also come to an end. He said that Saudi Arabia’s role in Pakistan is also coming to an end and after Pakistan’s refusal to enter Yemen war.

    “Our plan to attend the Kuala Lumpur Summit also pushed Pakistan-Saudi relations into a new phase. After refusal of the kingdom to support Pakistan on Kashmir issue has ultimately changed the paradigm of bilateral relations. There is a clear division between Pakistan’s interests and the Saudi interests,” he added.

    Terming the state narrative on fifth generation war, he said that states always use gimmicks to peddle their narrative against critics. He said that the state was trying to peddle its narrative through gimmicks like hybrid war and fifth generation war. He added that at times gags would be introduced and also people may be put behind bars too.

    “This is how states navigate through issues but this is being done much these days in Pakistan. But this is always damaging as states have to carry along people willingly to build narratives. Arm twisting would only lead towards a disaster,” he further said.

    Lt Gen (r) Durrani said that political engineering never benefitted Pakistan and it always backfired. He said that it leads to create confusions as no one is ready to take responsibility. He added that the past experiences have proved a fact that whenever anyone does political engineering, those kept out of the government always came back with a vengeance.

    Durrani, however, defended his own political engineering of Islami Jamhoori Ittehad (IJI) back in late 1980s, and said that he never regretted his engineering despite some mistakes committed.
    “Decisions are taken in a specific environment and in some background. I may have made some mistakes but I don’t regret those,” he added.

    Asked about his court martial trial with the military headquarters, Lt Gen (r) Durrani hesitated to comment, saying that any comment would be inappropriate till a decision is taken.

    “I would only say that those who read my book, say that there is nothing controversial in my book. Then there are few who ask why a media campaign was launched against me,” he asserted. He said that there was no restriction under the law against him to speak to media and many, including General (r) Pervez Musharraf, had also written books.

    “So, it is proved that allegation against me is not due to publishing of a book. There may be other reasons,” he concluded.

  • Kabul University teacher feeding student’s child during an exam wins hearts

    Kabul University teacher feeding student’s child during an exam wins hearts

    A picture of a professor at Kabul University, Afghanistan feeding one of his student’s child while she was taking her exam went viral on social media.

    As per reports, last week, a four-month-old son of a student at Kabul University cried and she was trying to make her baby calm instead of solving the exam. Amid all this, a teacher came forward and took the child in his arms and started feeding him through a feeder.

    The mother of the child completed her exam and someone in the examination hall took the picture and posted it on social media.

    https://twitter.com/NiqabiTilFajr/status/1300195905832914945?s=20

    The teacher in the picture is actually Mahmood Marhoon, a lecturer in the Pashto department at Kabul University. While speaking to BBC, he said that after the photo, he had received messages from many countries around the world appreciating him for his kind gesture.

  • Afghan girl shoots down two Taliban militants who killed her parents

    Afghan girl shoots down two Taliban militants who killed her parents

    An Afghan girl has shot down two Taliban militants who killed her parents and wounded several others with the AK-47 rifle

    The militants had captured the family home in the village of Griwa because the girl’s father supported the government.

    They had dragged the father and mother from the home before murdering them, local officials in Ghor province said.

    The girl, Qamar Gul, aged between 14 and 16, had taken the family’s AK-47 rifle and killed the two of the killers. The group denies any of its fighters died.

    Later, more militants came to attack the house but villagers and government troops fought them off.

    The girl and her younger brother were shifted to a safe place by security forces, Mohamed Aref Aber, spokesman for the provincial governor, told AFP.

    Photos of Gul went viral on social media where people praised her for her bravery.

    https://twitter.com/Indian46899293/status/1285511798594998272?s=20
  • Taliban deny plan to target Delhi, say ‘Kashmir is India’s internal matter’

    Taliban deny plan to target Delhi, say ‘Kashmir is India’s internal matter’

    Taliban have denied claims of joining Kashmiris’ freedom movement and attack New Delhi in retaliation against Indian atrocities under Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi’s regime that Pakistan and the international community fear is leading to the ethnic cleansing of the troubled valley’s majority Muslim community.

    According to Hindustan Times, the militant group has underlined that the Taliban “do not interfere in internal affairs of other countries”, saying the statement published in the media about the group joining Jihad in Kashmir was wrong.

    “The policy of the Islamic Emirate is clear that it does not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries.” Suhail Shaheen, the spokesperson for the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, as the political wing of Taliban calls itself, tweeted in Arabic.

    The clarification came after officials monitoring social media noted a spike in posts around claims that Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid had said it was impossible to be friends with India unless the Kashmir dispute was resolved. The spokesperson was also claimed to have said that the Taliban, after capturing power in Kabul, would also “capture Kashmir from infidels”.

    Diplomats based in Kabul and Delhi said that the Taliban spokesperson’s clarification came after India worked the backchannels to confirm reports about the group’s approach to India, and on Jammu and Kashmir.

    New Delhi was told that the social media posts were fake and did not reflect Taliban’s position.

    But analysts have also underlined that Taliban comprises people holding different beliefs. For example, while the group has alleged deep linkages with the deep state of some countries, there are also some who favour an independent line.

  • Iran blames Pakistan for spread of coronavirus

    Iran blames Pakistan for spread of coronavirus

    With the coronavirus death toll in Iran rising to 15 among 64 reported cases, Tehran has allegedly blamed Islamabad for the epidemic, saying it was brought to the country by Pakistani nationals illegally crossing into Iranian territory.

    The outbreak of the 2019 novel coronavirus — a severe acute respiratory syndrome named ‘COVID-19’ by the World Health Organization (WHO) — is an ongoing pandemic that originated in the central Chinese province of Hubei’s capital city, Wuhan.

    The virus, as of February 25, has claimed 2,663 lives with over 25,000 recoveries. COVID-19 spreading to other parts of Asia, the Middle East, Africa, North America and Europe, has infected more than 80,000 people globally.

    In Hubei, the number of cases appears to be stabilising, according to government figures. But the number of people infected elsewhere in the world is rising quickly, with clusters in South Korea, Italy, Iran and a cruise ship docked in Japan.

    While Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has suspended flight operations to China and Japan till March 15 due to the outbreak, Pakistan has closed its border with Iran after casualties from the deadly coronavirus were reported on Monday.

    The outbreak in Iran began in the city of Qom, an often-visited religious destination.

    According to authorities, Islamabad has suspended trade activities across the western border and barred citizens from travelling to Iran through the five existing border gates. The border town of Taftan in Balochistan has been quarantined for screening, while a 100-bed tent hospital has been set up in the area for pilgrims coming back from Iran, officials told The Current.

    “The government is in close contact with Iranian authorities to save Pakistani pilgrims from coronavirus,” Federal Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Noorul Haq Qadri said in a statement. He added that his ministry had deployed a special team in Taftan to protect Pakistani pilgrims returning from Iran.

    Amid Pakistani actions aimed at what the government calls “continuing to successfully avoid” an outbreak of the novel coronavirus, Iranian officials have claimed it reached the country with Pakistani, Afghan and Chinese nationals illegally crossing the border to enter Iran.

    “It is not possible for the virus to reach Iran otherwise,” an Iranian official said on the condition of anonymity. They added that Afghanistan had also confirmed its first infection, so the possibility of the virus reaching the country via its northern neighbour, could not be ruled out either.

    The claims were, however, contradicted by government sources.

    They said these “unverified” claims were untrue and being made by some local Iranian media agency, but it was not the time for blame game. “Coronavirus is a real threat. Every country in the region and the world is at risk. We all need to pool together our resources and fight it instead of shifting blame on one country or the other.”

    Government sources also said that both Pakistani and Iranian health advisers and their ministers knew each other for a long time. “Cooperation is quite good between the two health ministries and the governments are in close touch with each other. They are satisfied with the mutual assistance.”

    ‘NO CORONAVIRUS IN PAKISTAN’:

    Speaking to The Current, National Institute of Health (NIH) Focal Person Dr Muhammad Salman rejected the claims and clarified that for Pakistan to be responsible for the pandemic in Iran, there should’ve been any cases on this side of the border first.

    “Pakistan has in a scientific way, and while using evidence-based public health measures, dealt with the threats of a coronavirus outbreak in the country, and not even a single case has surfaced until now,” he said and reiterated that all such claims were false.

    He maintained that Dr Zafar Mirza had been on the frontline in curbing the potential risk, and owing to the efforts of the government, Pakistan was safe until now despite the virus affecting neighbouring Afghanistan, Iran and reportedly even India.

    CORONAVIRUS:

    In late December, a cluster of pneumonia cases of unknown aetiology was reported by health authorities in Wuhan. The initial cases mostly had epidemiological links to the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market and consequently, the virus is thought to have a zoonotic origin.

    The virus that caused the outbreak is known as SARS-CoV-2, a new virus which is closely related to bat coronaviruses, pangolin coronaviruses and SARS-CoV-1.

    The earliest reported symptoms occurred on December 1, 2019, in a person who had not had any exposure to the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market or to the remaining 40 of the first cluster detected with the new virus.

    Of this first cluster, two-thirds were found to have a link with the market, which also sold live animals.

    A large response, both in China and globally, followed an increase in cases in mid-January 2020, bringing travel restrictions, quarantines and even curfews.

    Examples include the quarantine of the British cruise ship, Diamond Princess, in Japanese waters; the curfew of over 780 million people in China, a voluntary curfew in South Korea, and the curfew of a dozen towns with over 50,000 people in Italy.

    The outbreak has been declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) by the WHO, and airports, as well as train stations, have implemented body temperature checks, health declarations and information signage in an attempt to identify carriers of the virus.

    Among the wider consequences of the outbreak are concerns about potential economic instability and incidents of racism against people of Chinese and East Asian descent, which have been reported in several countries.

  • US officials regret treating Pakistan as a friend; say Islamabad ‘played double game’

    US officials regret treating Pakistan as a friend; say Islamabad ‘played double game’

    United States (US) officials in the Bush and Obama administrations believe the “treatment of Pakistan as a friend” in Washington’s trillion-dollar Afghanistan war was a “critical error” as Islamabad “played a double game”, The Washington Post has revealed in its “secret history” of the 18-year-long conflict.

    The American newspaper on Monday published US government papers in an extensive report, ‘The Afghanistan Papers’. It contains confidential government papers containing around 2,000 pages of previously unpublished notes of interviews with US generals and diplomats who were key decision makers along with aid workers and Afghan officials playing a direct role in the conflict.

    As per the report, US officials admit that despite receiving advanced weapons and billions of dollars in aid, “Pakistan never supported America and was playing a double game in the conflict as early as 2002”.

    The Print quoted the report as claiming that Pakistan had joined the US in the war against terror, “but it also supported the Taliban and the al-Qaeda leadership in finding safe havens and logistics support on its soil and in Afghanistan”.

    The documents obtained by the Post also revealed that senior US officials failed to tell the truth about the Afghan war throughout the 18-year campaign and they “kept making rosy pronouncements they knew to be false while hiding unmistakable evidence that the war had become unwinnable”.

    Over the past 18 years, over 775,000 American troops have served in Afghanistan, many repeatedly. Over 2,300 US troops died in the conflict while 20,589 returned home wounded, according to the US Defense Department figures. At present, over 13,000 American troops are serving in Afghanistan whereas several thousand veterans suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

    The George W Bush administration had invaded the country in 2001 to hunt down 9/11 perpetrator, al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden, and destroy his terror organisation.

    However, the war, continued by Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump, eventually became a prolonged conflict, with the US objectives changing over the years to include fighting the ultraconservative religious faction Taliban and installing a democratic Afghan government.

    In the ‘Lessons Learned’ interviews, other US officials said the Bush administration compounded its first mistake by “treating Pakistan as a friend”.

    This was because of former military ruler General (r) Pervez Musharraf, who had allowed the Pentagon to use Pakistani airspace and US intelligence agency CIA to track al-Qaeda leaders in Pakistani territory.

    “As a result, the Bush White House was slow to recognise that Pakistan was simultaneously giving covert support to the Taliban, according to the interviews,” the Post said in its report.

  • Netizens praise man for educating daughters in war-torn Afghanistan

    Netizens praise man for educating daughters in war-torn Afghanistan

    Mia Khan from Afghanistan’s Paktika province is a hero without a cape. In war-torn Afghanistan, where educating girls is so hard and not very common, Mia Khan takes his three daughters to the Nooraniya school, which is some 12 kilometers away from his home. He travels on his motorcycle daily.

    Mia Khan waits for four hours for his daughters’ classes to end and then he takes them home. Mia Khan himself is not educated but he wants his daughter to be a doctor because there is no lady doctor in his village.

    The Nooraniya school is run by the Swedish Committee for Afghanistan. The reason Mia Khan selected this school was because of the quality of education they provide.

    He and his story is doing rounds on the internet.

    https://twitter.com/PakistanFirst_/status/1202135319396716544

  • Kashmir crisis: Taliban urge Pakistan, India to choose peace over violence

    Kashmir crisis: Taliban urge Pakistan, India to choose peace over violence

    As tensions soar after India revoked the special status of held Kashmir, Taliban have urged both Islamabad and New Delhi to refrain from taking any steps that could pave way for violence in the region.

    Pakistan has downgraded diplomatic ties with India and also suspended bilateral trade after the Indian parliament approved abrogating Article 370 of its constitution.

    The move that takes away autonomy from Indian occupied Kashmir (IoK), can lead to Muslim genocide in the disputed territory as people from all over India can now purchase properties there — resulting in major demographic changes.

    In a statement issued Thursday, Afghan Taliban expressed deep sadness over IoK’s special status being revoked and advised Pakistan and India to choose peace, stating that they themselves have gained bitter experiences from war and conflict.

    “Taliban have gained bitter experiences from war and conflict and urges peace and use of rational pathways to solve regional issues,” Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahed said.

    The statement further said that linking the issue of Kashmir with that of Afghanistan by some parties will not aid in improving the crisis at hand because the issue of Afghanistan is not related nor should Afghanistan be turned into the theater of competition between other countries.

    It came after the leader of the opposition in National Assembly, Shehbaz Sharif, compared Kashmir and Afghanistan in the parliament.

    “What kind of a deal is this that the Afghans enjoy and celebrate peace in Kabul, but in Kashmir, blood is shed? No, this is not acceptable for us,” the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader had said.

    However, the Embassy of Pakistan in Kabul has clarified that the Kashmir crisis would not affect the peace drive in Afghanistan.